Railway



D. S. NELSON April 2, 1963 RAILWAY 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 10, 1960 INVENTOR DONALD 5. NELSON W V ATTORNEY5 April 2, 1963 D. s. NELSON 3,083,649

RAILWAY Filed Aug. 10, 196 0 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 54 I85 INVENTOR 001mm 3. NELSON l" Z5;

*- 4 PM, WWW L ATTORNEY} D. S. NELSON A ril 2, 1963 RAILWAY 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 10, 1960 INVENTOR DONALD s. NELSON BY F iw (2 5$; 76W ATTORNEYJ nited States Patent 6 3,0836% PAELWAY Donald 5. Nelson, 1567 c-rnmerce St, Dallas, Filed Aug. 10, 1959, Ser. No. 48,569

9 Grams. (C M L-121) This invention is a railway and railway cars therefor, of a type using two monorails, one above the car and one below the car, making the cars captive.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a railway supported above the street level on a series of single vertical standards, thereby involving the use of a minimum of space on the street with a minimum obstruction of trafic. However, the railway may be used at ground level also.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the upper and lower monorails are supported by the standards and are fairly close to the standards on either side thereof, being supported by the upper and lower rails and extending outwardly therefrom.

More specifically, the upper rail or channel for the car is substantially in the shape of an inverted U, while the lower rail or channel is substantially U-shaped. The main weight of the car is supported by a series of rollers or wheels moving on the bottom of the lower channel. These supporting rollers or wheels are preferably resiliently mounted.

Each car comprises a longitudinally extending vertical Wall or frame, which may be regarded as the back wall of the car and the car is supported by this back wall. This back wall carries the supporting wheels referred to in the previous paragraph. In addition, this back Wall carries an upper series of balancing or guide rollers, turning on vertical axes, which bear alternately against opposite vertical walls of the upper rail or channel; the back wall also carries a lower series of balancing or guide rollers, turning on vertical axes, which bear alternately against opposite vertical walls of the lower rail or channel. The guide rollers are resiliently mounted.

In place of the guide rollers just described, resilient guides, resembling leaf springs, may be used.

The car itself is in efiect cantilevered outwardly from its support and guide rollers.

The cars may be in duplicate, if desired, on opposite sides of the supporting standard. Where the cars are aligned laterally on opposite sides of the standard, this balances the load on the standard. However, the invention is not limited to this feature.

Supporting girders and standards are preferably made of prestressed concrete.

The cars are driven by a power unit, comprising a central portion for carrying a driving motor. This driving unit is provided, preferably at its lower end, with load supporting rollers and guide rollers, working in the lower channel, and with driving wheels and guide rollers working in the upper channel. The driving wheels are pressed upwardly by spring means against the bottom wall of the upper channel and so the frictional grip of the driving wheels is independent of the load and of the weight of the cars, and so the cars may be quite light in weight.

The cars are provided with seats facing forwardly or sidewise as desired and with slidable doors, electronically controlled, as with elevators.

Further details and advantages will be described in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a railway in accordance with this invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical transverse cross-section on line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

"ice

,FIG. 4 is a horizontal section of one car.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged vertical cross-section of the guide and bearing rollers for the car.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged side view of the guide and bearing rollers of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a vertical section view of a modification.

FIG. 8 is a plan view on line 88 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a side elevation of a typical driving unit for a car.

Referring now to these drawings, vertical standards 2 preferably of prestressed concrete, support a series of supplemental supporting standards 4.

Upper rail member 6, which extends of course for the entire length of the railway and is made preferably of prestressed concrete, is provided with downwardly extending flanges 8 straddling supports 4.

Each upper rail 16 is formed integrally with member 6 and comprises an outer flange 12, which cooperates with opposite flange 3 to form an inverted U-shaped rail. These parts are duplicated on the opposite side, as in FIG. 3.

Each lower rail comprises a center part 14 provided with upward flanges 16 engaging over the lower portion of standard 4.

Lower rail 18 is formed as an integral extension of 14 and has an outer flange 2t cooperating with flange 16 to form a U-shaped rail. These parts are duplicated on the opposite side, as in FIG. 3.

The car 24 is cantilevered from its support '4, as in FIG. 3. The car is supported from and by what may be termed its inside or back wall 26 which wall, however, extends longitudinally. The wall 26 is provided with a series of vertical supports 28, positioned every few feet, these supports being provided with brackets 39 for load supporting rollers or wheels 32 on horizontal axes, brackets 30 being resiliently mounted by strong springs 34 inside support 28. Rollers 32 bear against the upper walls of lower rails 18.

A duplicate set of load supporting rollers 35 is provided at the upper ends of support 28, rollers 35 bearing against the bottom walls of upper rails 16.

To take care of side sway, there is provided alternately positioned rollers, on vertical axes, bearing alternately against the vertical inner walls of the upper rails 16 and lower rails 18. To describe the mounting of these rollers: An upper roller 36 is mounted on a vertical axis in a stirrup 38, carried by arm 4t pivoted in a bracket 42 on car wall 26. Below the bracket, a spring 44 urges arm 49 outwardly, causing roller 36 to bear resiliently against flange 12. Arm 40 is a lever of the first class.

Another set of analogous guide rollers 46 turning on vertical axes, is each mounted in a stirrup 43, carried by arm 51 pivoted in bracket 52. A spring 54 urges arm 59 outwardly causin rollers 46 to bear resiliently against flange 16 of lower rail 13. Arm St) is a lever or the third class.

Another set of upper guide rollers 36a turning on vertical axes is carried by arms 50a, analogous to Stl, which are resiliently pressed against the inner vertical wall 8 of upper rail 1d by coil springs 54a. Lever arms Ella, like 55'), are levers of the third class. Rollers 36 and 36a take care of side sway in either direction with respect to the upper rail.

Another set of lower guide rollers 46a turning on vertical axes is carried by arms 49a analogous to arm 49, are resiliently pressed by springs 44a against the inner vertical wall 16 of lower rail 18. Rollers 46 and 46a take care of side sway in either direction with respect to the lower rail.

In place of the rollers described above, for taking care of side sway, spring members slidable in the upper and lower rails may be used, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.

Vertical beams 60 secured at 62 to the back wall 26 of the car, carry at top and bottom arcuate springs 64, having ends 66 turned inwardly. The spring members 64 slide along inside the upper and lowerrails and 18 and bear against the two vertical wallsthereof and take care of side sway. As shown in FIG. 7, an electric power rail 68 may be embedded in one wall of either the upper or lower rail 10 or 18 and the springs 64 also act as slidable contact shoes for picking up current for light ing or driving the cars, or both.

One type of drive unit for driving the car is shown diagrammatically in FIG. 9. This comprises a main support 74, which telescopes over compression piston 76, a strong spring 78 urging 74 and 76 apart. Piston 76 carries two lower compression wheels 79. Forwardly and rearwardly extending brackets 80 and 82 are pivoted at 84 to extensions on piston 76. Brackets 8t) and 82 carry compensating offset guide wheels 85, turning on vertical axes; these wheels are urged laterally and outwardly in opposite directions by springs 86 to bear against opposite vertical walls of lower rail 18, to take care of side sway and so to center compression wheels 79 in the lower rail.

Support 74 carries housing 90 in which is mounted a motor 91. Motor 91 drives gears 92, shafts 93 and gears 94 to drive two driving wheels 95, turning on hori zontal axes and pressed by heavy spring'78 into strong frictional driving contact with the horizontal part of upper rail 10, for thereby driving the car. Forwardly and rearwardly extending brackets 96 and 97 pivoted at 98, carry compensating otlset wheels 99 turning on vertical axes, which are pressed laterally in opposite directions by springs 109, to bear against opposite vertical sides of upper rail 10 to thereby take care of side sway. The motor 91 may be driven by current from the power rail 68, FIG. 7.

With the described construction, the heavy spring 78 presses the driving wheels 90 into strong'frictional contact with the upper rail and provides the necessary traction, so that the drive does not depend for friction on the weight of the car and so a relatively light construction for the car is possible.

' While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it should be understood that the invention can be carried out in other ways, as falling within the scope of the claims.

' I claim asmy invention:

1. A railway comprising a substantially U-shaped lower channel member having a horizontal wall and vertical side walls, a substantially inverted U-shaped upper channel member having a horizontal wall and vertical side walls, a car provided with upper and lower guide rollers and with upper and lower load supporting rollers, positioned in and cooperating with said upper and lower channel members, a driving unit car-ried by said car compris-,

ing a supporting frame, upper and lower bearing wheels carried by said frame and bearing against the horizontal walls of said channel members, and a motor carried by said driving unit operatively connected with certain of said bearing wheels.

V 2. The combination ofi claim 1, wherein said driving 7 directions, a motor carried by one of said movable parts,

driving wheels driven by said motor and mounted operatively in one of said channels, and bearing wheels carried by the other of said movable parts.

4. A driving unit as set forth in claim 3, wherein said driving wheels are forced into strong-frictional contact by said spring means with said upper channel.

5. A driving unit as set forth in claim 3, further including compensating ofiset wheels on vertical axes operatively engageable with the vertical walls of said upper channel.

6. A driving unit as set forth in claim 3, further including compensating offset wheels on vertical'axes operatively engageable with the vertical walls of said lower channel.

7. A railway comprising in combination a substantially U-shaped lower channel member having a horizontal wall and vertical side walls, an upper channel member ofi substantially inverted U-shape having a horizontal wall and vertical side walls, a passenger car having a vertical back wall; a plurality ofvertical load carrying supports carried by said back wall, rollers on horizontal axes carried at the ends of said vertical supports and bearing against the horizontal walls of said lower and upper channels, a plurality of vertically positioned spring pressed levers, pivoted to said back wall, rollers mounted on vertical axes, carried by the ends of said levers, said last-mentioned rollers contacting the vertical walls of said upper and lower channel members, for taking care of side sway. I

8. The combination of claim 7, further including a driving unit carried by said car, said driving unit comprising a supporting frame, upper and lower bearing wheels canried by said frame and bearing against the horizontal walls of said channel members, and a motor carried by said driving unit operatively connected with certain of said bearing wheels.

' 9. The combination of claim 7, further including a driving unit carried by said car, said driving unit comprising a supporting frame, upper and lower bearing wheels carried by said frame and bearing against the horizontal walls of both of said channel members, respectively, resilient means for pressing said upper and lower bearing wheels against the horizontal walls of both of said channel members, respectively, and a motor carried by said driving unit operatively connected with certain of said bearing wheels.

' References Cited in the file of this patent v UNITED STATES PATENTS 962,179 Tunis June 21, 1910 1,770,068 Connors July 8, 1930 FOREIGN PATENTS 7 1,099,179 France Mar. 16,1955 

1. A RAILWAY COMPRISING A SUBSTANTIALLY U-SHAPED LOWER CHANNEL MEMBER HAVING A HORIZONTAL WALL AND VERTICAL SIDE WALLS, A SUBSTANTIALLY INVERTED U-SHAPED UPPER CHANNEL MEMBER HAVING A HORIZONTAL WALL AND VERTICAL SIDE WALLS, A CAR PROVIDED WITH UPPER AND LOWER GUIDE ROLLERS AND WITH UPPER AND LOWER LOAD SUPPORTING ROLLERS, POSITIONED IN AND COOPERATING WITH SAID UPPER AND LOWER CHANNEL MEMBERS, A DRIVING UNIT CARRIED BY SAID CAR COMPRISING A SUPPORTING FRAME, UPPER AND LOWER BEARING WHEELS CARRIED BY SAID FRAME AND BEARING AGAINST THE HORIZONTAL WALLS OF SAID CHANNEL MEMBERS, AND A MOTOR CARRIED BY SAID DRIVING UNIT OPERATIVELY CONNECTED WITH CERTAIN OF SAID BEARING WHEELS. 